Monday, September 12, 2011

Jetstar pilots feared for lives

Andrew Heasley
September 13, 2011

AN AIR safety investigation into claims a Jetstar flight carrying 147 people struggled to get off the ground at Darwin airport has found it was hit by a freak tail wind.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau conducted a formal investigation into the incident after Jetstar pilots told a recent Senate inquiry into airline safety that they thought they would perish.

The Jetstar flight was bound for Adelaide on October 31 last year; just after the plane lifted off and was folding its wheels, wind lashed the plane at 50 feet and again at 300 feet.

The pilots were able to carry out emergency safety manoeuvres.

During the Senate inquiry, Australian and International Pilots Association vice-president Richard Woodward said: ''They [the pilots] thought they were going to die''.

Jetstar said in a statement the air investigation ''has confirmed passenger safety was never compromised''.

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